The Perfect Moment That Almost Didn’t Happen

Erin Wilson

Sohaib is nearly asleep in the ward. His mother naps stretched out on the bed, with a pillow across her feet. She is pregnant with her second son and needs all the rest she can get.

Sohaib lays on his mother’s legs, tucked under her swollen belly, with his head propped up on the pillow. Each time Sohaib stirs, his mom begins to rock her legs back and forth, back and forth—lulling her son to sleep. He sucks his soother furiously, then as he relaxes it falls to the bed beside them.

It’s a perfect moment that almost didn’t happen.

When Sohaib was born ten months ago, he was placed on a long list of children who need lifesaving heart surgery. Libya simply doesn’t have medical professionals trained to perform complicated heart repairs.

But this… this is the kind of good news story you make happen in Libya.

Everything lined up perfectly for Sohaib to get surgery. His parents got him to a cardiologist who is training with our medical team in Libya. Sohaib didn’t get sick while our team was in the country performing surgeries, so he was able to keep his place on the roster.

His surgery went well, and he healed up quickly.

Sohaib doesn’t know anything about that, though. He only knows that he loves the way his mother rocks him to sleep. He knows that when he’s hungry and tired at the same time, he doesn’t want jarred bananas—he definitely wants a bottle of formula instead. He knows that shouting louder makes the bottle come faster.

Sohaib knows what every 10-month-old knows. And that, we know, is a miracle you made happen.